My my, what a day today! Just hours before the official unveiling of the Galaxy S5 at MWC, we finally have live images leaked for the upcoming Android flagship from the Korean smartphone and consumer electronics manufacturer, Samsung. And boy, do these images have a story to tell.
For quite a while now, it has been apparent that Samsung could deliver two rather different handsets at the point of the Galaxy S5's launch, and with the MWC showcasing just a couple of days away, an Amazon listing has all-but confirmed this to be the case. Spigen, maker of numerous smartphone cases and accessories, has sought to beat competitors to the draw by retailing its range of Galaxy S5 cases prior to the announcement, and in doing so, has suggested that there will, in fact, be separate "Prime" and "Standard" models.
Unless you've been hiding away in a cave somewhere, you'll probably have gleaned that Samsung will be unveiling its flagship Galaxy S5 at next week's Mobile World Congress. Although we've a relatively good idea as to the tech specs, pinning down a release date has proven to be rather more difficult.
Flickr has often proved to be a savvy leaker of camera data pertaining to unreleased smartphones, and with preliminary testing likely taking place prior to the announcement of the Galaxy S5 next week, the Yahoo-owned photo sharing site looks to have its first snaps taken using the elusive device. The fact that we've little-to-no clue regarding the device's form factor is a testament to how much of a secret the Korean company wishes to keep it, but we have still caught wind of rumors suggesting an improved, 16-megapixel rear-facing camera. Now, EXIF data of a photo taken using the Samsung-SM-G900A (possibly the AT&T Galaxy S5) and posted to Flickr appears to corroborate this.
On Monday, Samsung looks set to unveil the Galaxy S5 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but what with the showcase event falling on the last week of February, it had been anticipated that the device wouldn't retail until early March. However, O2 Germany might have let the cat out of the bag by hinting in a mailing list ad for the upcoming smartphone that it will hit shelves end of February, and with an image of a handset submerged in water also supplementing the feature, this could be construed as an indication that the Galaxy S5 will also be waterproof.
We've seen a plethora of leaked information that speculates on the potential technical specifications of the future Samsung flagship device, as well as conjecture surrounding the integration of a new external shell and an overhauled TouchWiz UI. "Sources familiar with the situation" have managed to furnish our inquisitive minds with pretty much everything we need to know about the Galaxy S5, except for an actual image that shows the aesthetics of the phone. That could all be about to change thanks to the latest Galaxy S5 concept that could be the most accurate we have seen yet.
Samsung's Galaxy S5 is very much at the center of attention right now, with leaks and speculation rife. We were recently shown a teaser for Samsung's Unpacked 2014 event which featured some rather fetching, distinctly flat icons, leading many to suggest that this may be a nod towards a newly redesigned TouchWiz interface for Samsung's Android line of smartphones. Those playing devil's advocate suggested that it may instead be based on icons from Tizen, but now it seems clear that it is in fact a teaser of what we may all be looking at when using a Galaxy S5.
Considering its status as the poster child of high-end Android smartphone-ing, it's only natural that we should be a little excited at the prospect of the Samsung Galaxy S5. Set to be announced at the Mobile World Congress at Unpacked 2014, many leaks and reports have tried to pin down a legitimate list of tech specs, but now, a shot of the device's packaging looks to have confirmed the hardware within the forthcoming handset. Suffice to say, it's every bit as powerful as we'd reckoned.
It has long since been suspected that Samsung's Galaxy S5 could spawn two separate editions. The first model, from what we've gathered, will be a relatively high-end affair, while the second will be an outright powerhouse, packed with all the very latest tech. More evidence has today emerged to corroborate this notion, thanks to a new set of leaked benchmarks, which paint a more specific picture of what's in the offing.
As far as Android is concerned, the Galaxy S5 from Samsung is the most eagerly-awaited handset of the year, and and with numerous reports of the device releasing in the near future, it now appears as though we may have a list of the all-important tech-specs. Although many of the mobile industry's major releases, including some of Samsung's previous devices, have been accused of hardware overkill, there's still something mightily impressive about big, bad specs that seems to draw us geeks in, and if a recently leaked AnTuTu benchmark is anything to go by, the Galaxy S5 will be every bit worthy of the 'powerhouse' label.
